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Friday, May 17, 2013

Plan to Restore Jaded Langside Halls has Green Light

Local architecture firm Collective Architecture have won the tender to begin restorative work on Glasgow's Langside Hall in Shawlands. While the Georgian exterior is still in good condition, the jaded Victorian interiors are in need of a refurbishment to transform the space into a social hub for the southside community.

The A-listed building is in fact, a rebuilding of the National Bank of Scotland, which in 1847, was located on Queen Street in the city-centre. Each stone used to construct the bank was moved to the building's current location in Shawlands for its conversion to public halls in 1902-03.

Engineer A.B. McDonald remodelled the halls to include a green-tiled entrance hall which the architects are referencing as their inspiration for the new interior design. The above CAD-drawing shows plans to extend the existing green tiles throughout the building to accentuate this Victorian period-feature.

The creation of a new emerald-green space comes as good news for local action group Southside Glasgow Heritage Environment Trust (SGHET) who have been spearheading the campaign to restore the halls to their former glory. This local committee were successful in their funding application to the European Enterprise Fund last year, bringing the total budget to conserve this hidden architectural gem to £4.8 million.

The development is part of Glasgow City Council's wider Shawlands Town Centre Action Plan which aims to reinvigorate Shawlands and its surrounds. Locals can look forward to a planned cafe-bar, restaurant, heritage information centre and cultural venue when work is completed after two years. In the meantime, the elaborate exteriors can still be enjoyed including the frieze-work and coat-of-arms, done by John Thomas, the same sculptor who worked on the Houses of Parliament.